Crete rail shipping facility advances

March 21, 2007|By Dennis Sullivan, Special to the Tribune.

Crete trustees approved most agreements for an 846-acre rail intermodal and industrial park that could produce 1,000 jobs and triple the village's real estate values, but tabled a proposed tax-abatement plan for the site.

Village President Mike Einhorn said approving the annexation agreement, rezoning and concept plan clears the way for Oak Brook-based CenterPoint and village officials to commission a traffic impact study west of Balmoral Park Race Track. The study should be completed in late summer, he said. Trustees also wanted to study the tax-abatement idea.

Automotive traffic is one of many details that must be addressed for the proposed development west of Illinois Highway 1, along a rail line used by the Union Pacific and CSX railroads. CenterPoint officials also can begin seeking a major freight railroad to lease the rail yard.

Einhorn said the 10-year construction project could begin later this year. When completed, Einhorn said it could triple Crete's current real estate values, which he estimated at $450 million to $475 million.

In addition, the agreement establishes a construction-related point-of-sale tax plan that could produce millions for Crete. CenterPoint representatives have pledged to provide equivalent payments if the point-of-sale plan falls through.

The approval came less than a month after Crete first began holding public hearings related to annexing and rezoning the property.

Records in the Will County recorders office show CenterPoint began accumulating land in 1999, but formally acquired most of its properties last year. The company spent about $50 million--a little more than $59,000 an acre--for the land, which was zoned for agricultural use.

Plans call for the rail yard to handle a million container lifts on and off trains each year.

Noting the concerns of nearby residents, Einhorn said once the final plan is in place, "that's the time to dial in the impact on the residents."

Those most affected by the project live outside the village in unincorporated Will County. They dominated the audience of approximately 100 people at Monday's meeting, with roughly a dozen voicing concerns. Issues ranged from fears of increased truck-car collisions on Goodenow Road, to noise and air pollution.

Nick Markobrad, a resident of Goodenow, wondered about the speed at which the project was progressing. "How come this thing is going so fast? Why the secrecy? What we don't know, we can only assume and we assume the worst," he said.